A chaotic first day of hearings on Capitol Hill ended Tuesday with Judge Brett Kavanaugh vowing to be “a neutral and impartial arbiter” should he be confirmed to the Supreme Court.
“If confirmed to the Supreme Court, I will keep an open mind in every case,” Kavanaugh said. “I will do equal right to the poor and to the rich. I will always strive to preserve the Constitution of the United States and the American rule of law.”
The confirmation hearings, which began on Tuesday with a number of protests from Democrats about Kavanaugh’s past political work, will continue through the rest of the week, Fox News reports.
Responding to such protests, Kavanaugh said he didn’t “decide cases based on personal or policy preferences.”
The beginning of the hearing was also delayed due to Democrats’ objections, which were mainly focused on access to the nominee’s records. Democratic California Senator Kamala Harris interrupted Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley’s opening remarks to complain about the committee receiving only a batch of 42,000 documents relating to the nominee’s work with past administrations, including that of former President George W. Bush.
“We cannot possibly move forward,” Harris said, which was immediately followed by a response from Grassley, who said she was “out of order.”
Her objections were backed by other Democrats who moved to adjourn. Democratic senators also complained of a “rush” to confirm Kavanaugh, triggering a reaction from Senator John Cornyn that such behavior in a court of law would lead to them being “held in contempt of court.”
When shouting protesters were finally escorted out of the room over an hour later, Senator Grassley delivered his opening remarks, saying “Judge Kavanaugh is one of the most qualified nominees – if not the most qualified nominee – I have seen.”
Protests continued as other senators delivered their remarks, prompting Grassley to acknowledge it was one of the most unruly openings of any Supreme Court hearing. Democratic senators quickly defended their actions, calling their outbursts “the noise of democracy.”
“This is what happens in a free country when people can stand up and speak and not be jailed, imprisoned, tortured or killed because of it,” said Democratic Senator Dick Durbin.
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